Kenai Dipnetting '09...what Spirit provides

We're back from dipnetting the Kenai with 20 more salmon. It's exactly what we needed to finish setting ourselves up with 2 meals a week for the next year. We were hoping for more so that we could donate some-and because it's just so fun to catch fish this way, but..."You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well ,you just might find...you get what you need."

The weather was more cooperative this year-warmer, very little wind (Lo didn't need to wear her "sandglasses"), it rained off and on but we stayed dry, and our last evening ended with an intensely clouded sky and rainbow. I was hoping for a glimpse of Redoubt volcano but we could only see the base.


We got onto the beach around 10:45pm our first night and met up with our friend, Dan, who was just finishing up fishing the last tide. After setting up camp, it was nice to sit around and chat before heading to bed. The next day was full of fishing and exploring on the beach. Lo had a great time playing in the water with her little "travel baby"
and was soon soaked through-but this is an Alaskan kid. She rarely seems to get cold. She was so filled with joy and excitement as she ran from the waves splashing the shore. I love to just watch her so filled with life and wonder...

The first tide was a bit of a bust. I caught 5, but Huz wasn't getting a thing and he was quite discouraged. He kept getting hits but each one got away. It wasn't until later that he found there was a huge hole in his net-what a friggin bummer. He patched it up and caught plenty of fish on the next tide. Dipnetting is not his or Dea's preferred mode of catching fish, but I love it! It's so totally different then using a rod and reel and I relish the physical work that you have to put into it. When the fish are crankin' in, it's a great workout, and so exciting hauling them to shore and then running back into the water for more. And although it's not quite like the Long Island Sound shores that I'm used to, I love the sand, the ocean smells, sound of waves and , yes, even the clustered and crazy campin'/fishin' melting pot community at the mouth of the Kenai. Maybe the whole thing brings out the ancestral hunting/gathering aspects of my nature.

No matter what modality of fishing we use, Huz and I like to fish early in the hopes of catching our limit by afternoon , get the filleting over and done with, so that we can have the rest of the day to play, relax, eat and socialize with an adult beverage or 3. It just feels so satisfying to work your tail off, get all that wonderful healthy salmon that will feed us for the next year, and have time to really appreciate and enjoy the well earned relaxation. After any type of hard work, be it dipnetting or putting an hour in at the gym, it makes a good meal, a good glass of wine, playing with family and enjoying friends so much the sweeter. Life is that much more imbued with intensity.

(fun with rainbows!)

(Salmon burritos on the fi-ah!)

(Done)

And on the topic of appreciating life... since Brett's death, I have been inundated with "messages"-specific lyrics from songs on the radio, books that pass through my hands, things my kids say, stuff I just stumble upon online-all saying in one form or another,"Life is precious, never take it or the ones you love for granted, WORK at it and make it the best and most positive life you can live, listen to the messages slapping you in the face, and give thanks for what is being presented even when it takes the shape of something seemingly unwanted or negative."

As we drove to the Kenai on the Seward highway, I was woken up from dozing when I felt the sudden jolt of the truck to the side of the highway. Huz said, Jeez! Did you see that guy?!?!? He just swerved into our lane!" We wondered if he was drunk or falling asleep. We found out after our trip that not a minute later after pushing us to the side of the road, that guy slammed into an oncoming car and killed the passenger inside. We didn't see it happen, but saw the cop cars race by soon after. Huz said,"I bet that guy just killed someone-that's where they're going."

That could have been US. Or our next door neighbors who just happened to be heading the opposite way not 4 cars behind that guy...

Another close call happened when we stopped on our way home at Centennial Park so that Dea could do some rod and reel fishing . As I left the port-o-potty and was heading down the path, I glanced to my left and not 5 feet from me was a moose. I did a quick side step off the path and toward our truck. (Some portly asshole fishermen were standing there laughing. I yelled, "Hey, thanks guys, for warning me about that moose!" Nice) As I looked back I noticed a calf, too, and could not believe that mama did not charge me.

...What does it all mean?